Gap Year Resources & Programs
Council on Standards for International Educational Travel
You (or your parents) may want to visit the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel Web site for a list of reputable international programs and providers.
The Center for Interim Programs
Founded in 1980, and with offices in New Jersey and Massachusetts, The Center for Interim Programs is a consulting service that can help you plan your gap year. The Web site offers sample programs and ideas.
Gapyear.com features a wide variety of travel and planning ideas and offers resources for further reading.
Programs
- Service opportunities in Latin America
- Projects include: Healthy Households/Healthy Communities, Community Nutrition, Digital Technology in Local Culture, Youth-to-Youth Community Development
- Teach English and other subjects in Africa, Asia and Latin America
- Schools are located in rural villages; teachers are assigned in pairs
- Live with a local family
- Programs in Costa Rica and Ecuador require working knowledge of Spanish; all programs open to students 17+
- Volunteer in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America
- Opportunities in health, education, and social service fields
- Cultural activities, language training, and guest speakers
- "Home Base" program housing
- Flexible program length—1 to 12 weeks; program open to student 18+ (possibly 16-17 with permission)
- Teach, volunteer, study, and work abroad in Africa, Asia, Europe, Central and South America, and Australia
- Examples of projects include: volunteering in an orphanage, environmental field work, lab work in a veterinary clinic, intensive immersion language study
- Program costs include all meals, housing, program arrangements, and 24-hour staff support; lengths vary from 1-3 months or more
- Short 2-week themed programs for students 16-19 also available
- Travel to Southern Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas
- Long (full year) or short (weeks or a few months) options
- Long programs may involve study; students in both types of programs live with host families
- Participants expected to make efforts to learn the language of their host country; open to students ages 15-19
- Semester programs in Guatemala, India, China, and the Himalayas
- Cultural immersion programs can include internship, independent study, language training, leadership work, teaching, and work
- WTBD gives students freedom in designing their own programs
- Live in homestay; open to students ages 17-22
The Council on International Educational Exchange
- Sites in Australia, Latin America, Europe and Asia
- Gap Year Programs
- Global Service Summer Programs, 3-4 weeks
- High School Study Abroad Programs, semester or year (open to recent HS grads)
- A division of the American Institute For Foreign Study, offering study abroad programs for high school and college-level students 17+
- Program 'Cores' in Aus/New Zealand, Latin America, and Asia may combine work, volunteer, and teaching components
- The program fee includes housing in most locations as well as a ten-stop worldwide airline ticket
El Casal: Learning Adventures in Barcelona
- Semester programs fall and spring
- Combination of language and culture coursework in Spanish, Catalán language, and community service/internship
- Live in homestay—two or more year of Spanish required
- Academic year and summer programs in China, France, Italy, Spain, and India
- Earn U.S. high school graduation credits
- Homestay and an academic program emphasizing foreign language acquisition
- School Year Abroad
- Academic year and summer programs in North America, Europe, Caribbean, Africa, Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific
- Open to high school juniors and seniors, and college students
Summer Programs
- 3-week programs in Oceanography, based near Cape Cod, Woods Hole, MA
- Open to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors, and college freshmen
- SEA Education Association
- One-month summer programs in Australia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Turks and Caicos and Kenya
- Programs field-work, trips and lectures; focus on environmental studies
- Students 16+ are eligible to apply
